Student Information Privacy Update

Radford University Students, Faculty and Staff:

The privacy of our students’ information is a priority at Radford University.  This message is to update you on legislation recently passed by the Virginia General Assembly that affects the disclosure of student information by education institutions in Virginia and will be effective on July 1, 2018.

Specifically, SB512 prohibits the disclosure of “the address, phone number, or email address of a student” without the written consent of the student, while HB1 permits disclosure of some information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), provided that the University has “given notice to the student of (i) the types of information that the institution has designated as directory information; (ii) the right of the student to refuse the designation of any or all of the types of information about the student as directory information, and (iii) the period of time within which the student must notify the institution in writing that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student designated as directory information.”

As a result, beginning with the Academic Year 2018-19 check-in process, the Office of the Registrar will be implementing a detailed election form for students to decide whether or not they approve of the release by the University of their personal data.

One of the most noticeable changes will affect the availability of students’ names and email addresses listed on the RU Campus Directory.  Currently, student first and last names and university email addresses are provided unless individual students requested to not be listed in the directory.  As a result of the new laws, by July 1, 2018, student names and email addresses will not be listed on RU Campus Directory.

There will be additional updates regarding the implementation of changes necessitated by this legislation.